The Veil
by bast4
Summary: AU, HPDM, post-OotP. Veils hide things from the world. Emotions, truth, power, all these and more can be shielded by these walls. One by one, they're torn down, and the world comes to know the True Harry Potter in all his glory.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer :** bast4 does not own Harry Potter or his world. Bast4 just plays in it.

**A/N : **This is an old story which has several chapters of varying lengths (it used to be a long one-shot thingie) and I don't know when I'll continue it or where it's going.

Hope you enjoy.

**The Veil**

By bast4

**Chapter One**

"Remus?"

Amber eyes looked up from the pages of an old book they had been blankly staring at for the past several minutes. Those amber orbs, darkened with grief, met haunted sorrowful too-bloody-old-for-a-teenager emerald eyes. Seeing that he had been acknowledged, Harry closed the door and walked up to the werewolf's armchair. Kneeling beside it, the young wizard said, "Remus, you were in love with Sirius, weren't you?"

He watched the amber eyes look away, but still caught the pain in them.

"Do you want him back, Remus? Do you want him to live again, to hold you at night, to grouch about being stuck here – "

"Yes!" Anguish was plain in voice and on face as the book was dropped and a hand was waved at the teen. "Please, stop. Stop torturing me."

The hand was caught between two smaller ones. "Then help me get him back."

"We can chase after Death-eaters all day for a year, and it won't bring him back, Harry."

"I know that." A pause. "Take me to the Department of Mysteries, to the Veil. If you really want him back, then help me get there. I can get him back for both of us, Remus. Get him back for all of us."

Remus's head whipped around to face Harry. Confused and surprised amber eyes gazed into earnest green. As the wizard began to realize that the teen's eyes held truth and confidence and assurance, a spark of hope awoke in Remus's heart.

"How – it's impossible, Harry. He went through the Veil, that thing leads into Death, the afterlife, whatever fancy name you give it, he's still gone."

Green eyes held a secret, a wisdom, a knowledge that made Remus doubt all the research he had done about the Veil and its properties. "I can't tell you how, not here or now, but I swear to you this, Moony." Emerald bore into amber. "I can get Sirius back. I truly can."

Seeing the uncertainty in his elder, Harry said, "Trust me, Remus. Please trust me and help me."

- + - + - + -

"Mom!" Ron crashed down the stairs, ignoring the screeches of Mrs. Black at his noise. "Harry's gone! He's gone!"

"What?" At least five sets of voices called out, and a stampede of people hurried to meet the youngest Weasley son at the foot of the stairs.

"He's gone, and he left a note – "

_**Letter**_

Everyone,

Remus and I have gone to see Sirius. Be back soon.

Harry Potter

_**Letter ends**_

Stunned faces stared between each other and the letter and back again, unsure of what to say and not wanting to think of what the words on the paper might mean.

-- end chapter --

thank you for reading. please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer : **bast4 does not own Harry or his friends.

**The Veil**

By bast4

**Chapter Two**

"Well, we made it. Now what – Harry? Harry, what are you doing?" Remus stepped toward the teen. Harry was standing before the fluttering cloth of the Veil, gazing into the bleak mists beyond it. With a wave of his hand, the fabric rolled up to the top of the stone arch like an obedient dog at its master's command. The boy started to step into the mists themselves when Remus rushed forward and grabbed his arm.

"Harry, if you meant joining him, then – "

"Let go of me, Remus." Harry's voice held a strong note of command, quite similar to Dumbledore's yet ringing of power far greater and older than the headmaster's. The tone turned kinder and reassuring as he continued, but didn't lose the confidence or underlying note of command. "I know what I'm doing, Remus. You have to trust me. Now please let go of my arm and step back."

Slowly the limb was released and green-gold eyes watched the older wizard step back uncertainly, standing to the left of the arch. Harry gave a reassuring grin before turning his attention back to the Veil's misty pathways. Stepping onto the threshold between the mists and the real world, he flung out his right hand. The mists parted, fleeing before him to form a path as the limb glowed gold, an aura which quickly swept over Harry's entire body.

Remus winced a bit at the sudden bright light that now surrounded the teen wizard. Then his ears perked as Harry started to talk. Well, chant was more like it, a rhythmic stream of odd syllables that seemed half-speech, half-bird song, and filled the cold room with a warmth that had nothing to do with the temperature and everything to do with the soul. He couldn't help but wonder where Harry could have possibly learned this – spell? – that he was doing, the language unlike any he had ever heard. The only thing that had made Remus feel this way before had been phoenix song, and this was more potent, more strong, more vibrant than what any living phoenix could create. Then the musings of Harry's knowledge fled as the song-chant-spell dwindled to a stop and his regular teenage voice called out, "Sirius, Padfoot, come back to us."

Harry glanced at Remus, eyes glowing green-gold, jerking his head to draw the other wizard near. Remus stepped forward, and called over the teen's shoulder, "Padfoot! It's Remus! Please, please come back! Harry and I need you back!"

"Follow the path, Sirius! Follow the golden path and come back to us! Please Sirius! Please!" Even with the note of command in his voice and the power Remus could feel about him, Harry was still a teenager begging for a parental figure he loved to not abandon him to the harsh world that he wasn't quite ready to face alone.

The werewolf and very powerful teen called and pleaded for several minutes. Just as Remus was beginning to give up hope, Harry cried, "Look! He's coming!"

Amber eyes narrowed, scouring the golden path partially hidden by odd tendrils of mist. Where-? There! A dark human figure was stumbling toward the pair, walking slowly as if something was dragging him back from behind. "Come on, Padfoot! Please, don't give up! Come back to us! I know you can make it, you're strong and stubborn, so just keep walking!" He watched his lover struggle against forces that neither could see. But another could.

"Release him!" A strong angry voice called out suddenly, making both Remus and Sirius look up in surprise. With a wave of his hand, an arc of golden energy swept toward Sirius. As it got closer to the struggling man, small forms became visible to startled lupine and canine eyes. Gangly hairless black and gray creatures, looking vaguely like disfigured house elves, had strong long fingers clinging to Sirius's arms, legs, cloak, and even his hair, trying to keep the man in their world. Some were thrown off and back by the magic wrapping about Sirius's form, but a good dozen or so were very stubborn little buggers. Anger growing, Harry shouted, "I said, LET GO!!"

Instead of more golden light, flames erupted from Harry's hand and wrapped about the creatures, flinging them away as they squealed in pain and fear. Stunned, the adults looked at Harry to see an amazing sight. The gold aura had changed, forming a phoenix with flame wings opened wide and green-black eyes glaring fiercely at the stumbling critters. Remus, seeing the teen's mouth open, prepared for another shout. Instead, an enraged screech-song rang out, sounding beautiful and dangerous to both sets of sensitive human-yet-not-human ears. The creatures reeled and fell back, clutching their heads as though in pain, fleeing into the mists under the now-fully golden eyes of the teen.

Once the creatures were gone, Sirius found it rather easy to make his way down the rest of the path to the arch, where Remus and Harry were waiting, the phoenix aura looking welcoming and comforting rather than dangerous and angry now. Stumbling from exhaustion, Sirius Black fell through the Veil and into Remus's arms. The reunited lovers clung to each other for several long moments, relishing the presence of the other in soft loving murmurs as they sat upon the stone floor of the chamber. Hearing a noise, they broke apart and turned to look back at the Veil.

Harry had his arms spread, the phoenix's wings also opened wide as if to embrace the mists of the Veil. A low cooing-chanting came from the small figure, the words of a language neither recognized but felt comforted by weaving some form of magic over the mists and the Veil that kept them from entering the real world. A sudden flash of light made both men shield their eyes. A moment later, they cautiously opened them again to see Harry step away from the Veil and let the curtain fall back into place. The teen turned and looked silently at the pair on the floor, gold eyes slowly reverting back to their normal green with gold flecks and the powerful aura of magic, along with the flame phoenix, withdrawing back into him. Once he looked like his normal old self again, save the thinness and fading bruises of this summer, Harry walked closer, then suddenly, in a rare act of open childish love, flung himself into his godfather's arms. Sirius automatically hugged him back, surprised. Harry's somewhat muffled voice arose from Sirius's robes. "I missed you so much, Sirius. So much."

"Hey, it's okay now." Sirius rubbed the teen's back gently, not liking the way his godson was trembling. "I'm back now, and I don't plan on leaving any time soon."

Harry pulled back and gave his godfather a cheeky grin amidst his tears. "You'd better not. I can't bring you back from the dead all the time, you know."

A shocked expression came over Sirius's face, followed by Remus as they realized just what had happened. Harry had brought Sirius back from the dead. The dead. Then perhaps …

"No." That single word drew then out of their shock, and the pair looked to the teen, whose eyes were wet with tears he refused to shed. "I can't bring Mom and Dad back. It's been too long. To heal their bodies and drew back their spirits would kill me, take all my life energy. I'm sorry." Harry bowed his head as if it was all his fault.

Sirius and Remus hurried to reassure him. "It's okay." Remus said, rubbing the shaking back. Sirius ran a hand through Harry's hair as he felt a few tears dampen his shirt, continuing the verbal comforting. "They're happy where they are. I got to talk with them, and they're happy and so very proud of you and love you so much, Harry. So very much." Sirius soothed his weeping godson. "They're watching over you and say that you should hurry up and admit your love from your mystery crush. I pestered them for what must have been days, but they refused to tell me. So not fair." Sirius gave a playful pout as Harry slowly drew back and wiped away his remaining tears.

"I'm glad." Taking a deep breath and letting it out again, Harry stood. "Come on, you two. We'd best get back to Grimmauld Place. My note of 'gone to see Sirius' probably wasn't too reassuring."

"Wait," Remus said, pulling Sirius to his feet as he rose. "You didn't tell them where we were going?"

"Of course not!" Harry looked annoyed. "If I had, they would have come running in and interrupted, which would have had deadly results. But I bet you anything that by the time we get there, Hermione would have just figured out where we went."

All three shared a chuckle or two before Sirius said, "Well, let's go then! I'm starved!"

Remus started to move toward the door when Harry called, "Wait. We can just apparate back."

The pair looked at each other, then back at Harry. "You can't apparate out of the Mysteries Department. There are wards and – "

Harry walked up and grabbed their arms, grinning as he said, "Trust me. We can."

After a moment, Sirius just shrugged and tried to apparate them out. Both sensed a gentle yet strong swirl of magic twine about them, warm and comforting as the flames and song of a phoenix.


End file.
